Side delivery rake



Feb. 21, 1956 J. R. WEST 2,735,256

SIDE DELIVERY RAKE Filed July 25. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l Zfluvcntor va/muff Zl/M @iAa/zd 6 (Mm/a g.

lthmwu Feb. 21, 1956' J. R. WEST SIDE DELIVERY RAKE Filed July 23. 1952u In N 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3nbentor muaww/aazic'ad a a ttorneg UnitedStates Patent "l ce 2,735,256 SIDE DELIVERY RAKE" lamesakex West, NewHolland, Pat, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Sperry RandCorporation, a corporation of Delaware Application' .lnly 23', 1952Serial- 19633012396 r 4 Claims. (Cl. 56-376) Thisinvention relates to aside delive'ry take of the class in whicha series oflaterally movingraking' ele-' ments are disposedin echelon formation to transfer the hayfrom one raking element to the next and to deliver it in' a windrow atone side of the rake path.

Rakes of this general class are old and well known, being disclosedfinprior U. S. patents, as forinstanice the Beck U. S'. Patent 468,382 ofFebruary 9 189 2, and the Morrill' U. S1 Patent 2,447,354 of August 17,1948; However, the laterallyiact-ing raking elements in thesepriorcon'struotions ha've comprised raking wheels which due to theircircular peripherieshave been capable of only a'lirnitedor.pcint"cont'act with the ground .or the hay.

In accordanc'ewith' the present invention, it -is possible to secure'auniform operative engagement .ofth'e raking elementswith the hay acrossthe entire path of traverse of the rake and thereby toimprovethejefficiency of the raking action, while affording a greaterlateralgcoverage with fewer raking elements'than have heretofore. beenrequired. 7

In accordancewith my invention therakin'gelements compriseendles's.fiexible chains or members arranged across the. path oftraverse of the rake with thjeir-lower runs disposed horizontally and'in laterally' overlapping relation.

' Such endless raking elements are preferablyfdispos'ed diagonally tothetpathof movement of therake, 'sotthat if desired; they may be drivensolely 'gbyengagetnen't with the ground or the hay thereon insubstantially"theisarne manner as is disclosed in the above referred to-Morrill' patent However, it is a fui-ther'object of my invention toprovide a ,power drive for-such raking e1emems,{ it having been foundthat-bydriving-these elements" at a greater. speed than is possiblethrough -gr'o'und enga' ge ment thereof, not only can 'a' larger-volumeof hay be handled, but in addition this speed may besogoverned as tofor'm the hay intoa windrow which is ro'll'dto theoptirnurn degree ofcompactness;

It is a further more specificbbject to'provide'afio'atiii'gmounting-permitting-fre'e vertical movernntof theouter lateralextremitiesof the out'ermost raking elements-where by these may moveini'conforrnity with irregularities: in theaterraint- The-foregoingaswell as additional objeets-andwadvam tagesgwillzbe readily apparent fromthe following: detailed description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a side delivery rake illustrating apreferred embodiment of the'invention;

Figure 2, across 'sectionoh the line 2 -2 of Figure 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows and showing the me tinting a d'support'in' means'for the. severall fi'exible raktng elernents'; V

Figu 're 3; a,cross-'seetion'on thelin'e 3-3 of Figural I'o'okin'gin'th'e direction'cf'the'arrow's; and

Figure a cross-sectionrronz-the;1iner44 of Figure 2 looking in thedirection of arrows.

Referring now in-detailto the=aecoiripanying-drawings,

2,735,256 Patent d Feb, a1, was

the A rake mechanism is supported on afrii'nie w'hieh is adapted-iii any'suitab-Ie mann'entor longitndiiial gioiind" traversing r'nov'inent.Theexa'rnplof such a fraine chosen' for purpose ofillu'strationcomprisesapair at forwardly converging" rigid 'fr'a'n'i'e members 2 2 fpro vided' at their conver ing forward" ends with a suitahitch any whichthe trbr'rt efid-of th'e' ffain'e may-te coupled to and supported' by a'us'ua'l fa'i'nr traetorg An; axle 4 rotatably journalled across therrameaonbearings 5'- --'-5 car-ries -laterally spaced-wheels 6""6' forsupporting the earen'd-of the rram'e' during' its longitudinal-"forwardmovement. Suitablecross braces =7 and sane manhe provided to lendrigidity tothe frameastru'c'mra In order'to adapt the frame-"formountingiofthe 'raliihg ele'nients, there is" provided" a'su'b-name-srrucmre "v'vliicli in the preferred embodiment includesEthetwo substantially U-shaped rigid han'g'r's'St- -and*-10 respective1y;saint-m: eluding a lateral extension-9 m rojecting fr'c side the'reof-in alignment with its bottom; Thefu'p disposed legs or side's ofeacahangers and 1'0 are-v ticall y adjustably connected to brackets-11on*the"rsp tive frame members 22,' by means ofbol'ts 12Wh'ili'a'revertially'adjust'abl in slots "11' in their respective brackets. su'ch'adjustability-prrnits'raising or lowering of 'the r'akin'g elements tothe desired operating level;

Ttiehanger's 9-and 10 are in parallel spaced relationship and p'rfiablyexte' *"diag'o an td the lih -dffliatik of th e rake; whereb Takineltne'i'ifs carriedb'vthese hangersm'ay similarly extiid andmovqdiagonally to the movement of 'therake, lt will *be-in ted" hat thelatei'al extensions 9 and 10 of-'th'e -res'pe'ct i v hangers prefect onopposite sides of thF'rake struCtur-eE Rotatably jo'u'rr'iall'ed 'through the opposed rn'ainrpor tions'bfthe resiiecrive hangers 9' mi mie-laterally s aced parauer=shafts 1a ana new whichareekeye wheel's15:45: bbth'lyii a co'inhioh vertical lane? Disposed around f 'andbetween these-"2 sprocket": w hels 1: -"'-1. and-also between thehangers? and-r10 fixible 'centir al raltin'g element:1'7wvihich emdim'ent assiiines e formmt'znendless pr o'cket-chain havingraki'rig-teeth t securedthereon reghlar int rvalsa Pivet'ed'onthashaft:13 is"a"vertically swingable arrn 18E the-outer tree eador whiehretatabl-yslippers a stub snars l9 parallil' to'shafts island- 142 oneende th stiib' sha'ft' 19v ater-ably supports" a flangitfroller 19t2WhlCh; is movable in an -afcilate slot l9b iri' 'the enlarged *outei"endorh'ang extension 9', te -thereby confine thelsvvinging' movemntofithe -arr'n 19 withiridesi'red liinits, the fi e of the roller abuttingagainst extension 9' toresistrar' ward-swi ging etarm -18:sprecketsl'lfl on hesli a fts IS' ai-i'd :1 re's'peetiv'elyfand inadvance of t 'espreclcets IS ISShJv'e a leading flexible endless rakingelhient 17' siniilar to element operatively suppbrted' tner'earo'tionshipghilt "in otherwise idfi'tical mean t'd'tlie l''adifigraringelernent 175,- being" uidea aro'undprocket wheels 22 42am the-shafts 14min 23 respectivel rearwardly-er the hanger 10: Th" haff 23is'-m6unted"at the free rid of an arm 24 'swt iibly sl lp affi'lit :-aro1let 2'3ki' ont h' shaff 23 19 ai-c'iia't'e slot 23b iii theenlarge oh"'r efi tensidn lna" sothat theswing'ing' v zania be eonfi'rfiedwitliirl desired mi Thii's-i't w'ill be seenthat the oneness f outerraking elrnen s 17bfall withiii pide't'erniin'ed liinits to"-bet'terirregular terrains I L srne'e "the procket wheels 15 and 21' o Haiti-13and rhe-twbsmecketn eels" 'and'QT-bri trait-"14' both retai as a unitwithfihmr res'p this sea Esaid eonfsna with as a single rotor, adaptedto function as a common support for adjoining portions of the adjoiningrake chains or elements 17a, b and respectively. Similarly each of thesprocket wheels 21 and 22 with its supporting shaft may be regardedbroadly at a rotor or rotor unit.

It will be seen that the flexible raking elements 17a, 17b and 17c aresupported on these rotors or rotor units in relatively laterallyoverlapping echelon formation so that their lower runs jointly provide alaterally continuous raking engagement with the hay completely acrossthe path of the rake, to thus maintain the raking action at topefliciency.

In order to efficiently strip the hay from the raking teeth t of theseveral raking elements as same move up wardly following completion oftheir operative raking run adjacent the ground, there may be provided aplurality of stripper bars 25a, 25b, and 25c, each operativelyassociated with its respective raking element 17a, 171), or 11c, andeach being supported by arms 26-26 from collars 27 on the respectiverotor shafts.

- As thus disposed, it will be apparent that the stripper bars 25b and25c asociated with the laterally outer raking elements 17b and 17c arefreed to swing or move vertically with their respective elements as thelatter rise and fall during passage over uneven ground.

However, in accordance with an important feature of the invention is isdesirable to furnish a power drive means for rotating the sprockets orrotors at a speed such thatthe transverse movement of the rake teethover the ground may be substantially in excess of that which wouldnormally result simply from ground engagement. This not only increasesthe capacity of the rake, but also enables it more efiiciently toperform the desired function of rolling the hay as it passes around theupwardly moving ends of the respective raking elements 17a, b, and c inits passage across the rake. With this end in view, it is ob vious thatthe spaces between the respective raking elements and the speed ofmovement of these elements may be so selected as to form a windrow whichis rolled to any degree of compactness within a wide range.

The power drive shown by way of exemplification in the accompanyingdrawings comprises a suitable gear box G mounted on an extension of theaxle 4 and secured against rotation in a suitable manner. Rotary drivingmovement is transmitted from the wheel 6 through the axle 4 and itsassociated gear box G to an extensible universal coupling 28, which isuniversally connected to the shaft 13 to transmit rotation thereto fromthe gear box G." Since all of the raking elements 17a, 17b, and 170 areinterconnected through their respective sprockets and shafts, all willthus be driven simultaneously at the same rate of speed. Therefore inoperation as the portable frame is drawn over the ground by a tractor orother vehicle, the several raking elements 17a, 17b and 17c are alldriven from the rotating wheels 6 by virtue of the mechanism abovementioned. The leading raking element 17b engages hay on the ground andurges it transversely of the rake into the path of the central rakingelement 1711, which in turn passes this hay together with the hayindependently engaged by it into the path of the trailing or rearmostelement 170, which element then discharges the hay in a continuouswindrow at one side of the rake.

,Each time the hay is transferred from one raking element to the next,and also at the time it is discharged in windrow form form the trailingraking element 170, it must pass around the upwardly moving rake teeth tat. the discharge end of one ofthe raking elements, at which time it issubjected to arolling action.

; If desired the power drive means for the raking ele ments may beomitted, in whichevent the said elements may be driven simply by groundengagement in accordance with known principles; however, in such eventthe ofjmovement of the respective raking elements will be relativelyslow and it will not be possible for them to 4 roll the hay asefficiently as when these elements are driven at a higher rate of speedby power'drive mechanism. j

In this application I show and describe only the preferred embodiment ofthe invention simply by way of explanation of its practice as by lawrequired. However, I recognize that the invention may be embodied inother and different forms and that its several details may be modifiedin various ways all without departing from the invention. Therefore, thedrawings and description here;

in are to be construed as merely illustrative in nature and not asexcluding other embodiments and modifications.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A side delivery rake comprising a portable frame adapted forlongitudinal movement, a plurality of rotors supported from said framefor rotation about relatively laterally spaced parallel axes diagonal tothe rake movement, an endless flexible raking element supported on andmovable around each pair of laterally adjacent rotors, in combinationwith power drive means for rotating one of said rotors whereby drivenmovement will be transmitted to all of said interconnected rotors andraking elements, said raking elements being disposed in relativelylaterally overlapping echelon formation so that their lower runs jointlyprovide a laterally continuous raking action, but in spaced relationwhereby as the hay passes from each of said raking elements to the next,it will move around and be rolled by an upwardly moving section of eachsuch raking element, one of said rotors being supported for rotationabout a fixed axis, a rigid arm being pivotally connected with saidrotor for vertical swinging movement, and another of said rotors beingcarried by said arm for bodily movement about said fixed axis ofrotation of said one rotor.

2. A side delivery rake comprising a portable frame adapted forlongitudinal movement, a plurality of rotors supported on said frame forrotation about relatively laterally spaced parallel axes diagonal to therake movement, an endless flexible raking element supported on andmovable around each pair of laterally adjacent rotors, all but thelaterally outermost of said rotors being supported on said frame forrotation about fixed axes, oppositely laterally projecting armspivotally connected. with said first mentioned rotors for movement aboutthe axes thereof, the laterally outermost of said rotors being carriedby said arms for bodily vertical movement, said raking elements beingdisposed in relatively laterally overlapping echelon formation so thattheir lower runs jointly provide a laterally continuous raking action.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, in which said frame includesrigid guide members formed with arcuate slots respectively coincidentwith the movement of the axes of said laterally outermost rotors, saidrotors including axially concentric means movable in and limited by saidslots, flanges on said means slidably abutting against said guidemembers and preventing longitudinal deflection of said outermost rotors.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 including a stripper bar extendingbetween and rotatably connected to the said fixed axis rotor and thebodily movable rotor, whereby said stripper bar will be maintained atall times in operative relation to the raking element supported aroundsaid respective rotors, despite movement of said bodily movable rotor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

